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Full Bust Dress Review: The Dragon Lilian by Trashy Diva

Apologies for the post-gym hair!

I have a confession: I’ve pretty much maxed out the cocktail dress space in my closet. I love fancy dresses, but until I start going on copious cruises that require cocktail attire every night I’ve decided to try and stick to dresses that can double as workwear as well. I explain this because my path to buying this dresses started with this gorgeous cocktail dress here:

Image via Trashy Diva

I love this dress, but the sparkly design definitely takes it into cocktail dress territory. As I was lamenting my self-imposed ban on fancy dresses, Ashe quickly pointed out this red work friendly version. Trashy Diva was out in my size, but luckily Pinup Girl Clothing still had one left.

Image via Trashy Diva

I’ve never bought anything that could be categorized as “Asian inspired” before and was a little nervous about trying to integrate it into my wardrobe. I’m not naturally a fashion risk taker – I get comfortable with one look and am fine with wearing it all the time with some slight variation. I do tend to gravitate towards red dresses, so I was fairly sure I’d wear it in the end.

If you read my Maria dress review, this dress may look familiar. The Maria uses the top cut of the Lilian with a much wider skirt. I’ve worn my Maria dress to death this summer and it has one huge advantage over my beloved Sadie cut – I don’t have to wear a plunge bra with it. My white Elomi Rita fits fine underneath these dresses, which is great for the days where I’m not organized enough to have a plunge in the right color ready.

While the Maria dress feels romantic and dramatic due to the skirt size, this dress feels refreshingly casual and easy to wear. Part of this is due to the slimmer skirt, but the rayon fabric also feels great on. It’s an easy dress to slip on when you’re running out for a nice dinner on the fly or need to look great for a meeting on short notice. The red and black makes it easy to accessorize and I suspect that it could be really dressed up with the right purse and jewelry. I’m sort of cheating here with my navy and red vintage purse!

I tried this dress with and without a belt and finally felt like the belt didn’t add anything. If you’re full busted, the frog clasps and a belt just don’t seem to work together. This is one of the few Trashy Diva dresses that doesn’t come with a belt, so clearly they know what they’re doing. I’m planning on wearing this dress for lots of occasions – from nice dinners out to work meetings with a denim jacket over it.

7 Comments

I’m so glad you found this one and loved it as much as I thought you would!
Coincidentally, my relationship with it also began with the Peacock. I wanted to try on the Peacock so I could pre-order it but, being that it’s sold out & on pre-order, tried on the Dragon version. I also don’t wear a lot of Asian-inspired pieces, and have been shying away from red this season (just doesn’t feel *right*).

Needless to say, when I tried on the Dragon… well, I fell in love with it. As much as I had expected to love the Peacock version. It really is easy to wear. While I’m not full busted, I did pair it with zebra print belt + black/white saddle-inspired shoes… it’s just so easy to wear! (And then I picked up the Maria, which I am wearing right.now.)

hollyj

I’m so glad to hear you picked up the Maria! I can’t wait to see a picture – it will look fabulous on you. I love the idea of a zebra print belt and black and white accessories with this one. I may definitely have to try that with some shoes.

scarlet

I have been wearing Trashy Diva dresses for about a decade now. The ones that fit at the natural waist suit my proportions very well, though the ones that move the waistline to the ribs tend to make me look heavier than I am. I take the styles on a case by case basis when evaluating flattery. I generally prefer them to fit with some ease (1-2″) though. I find the silk dresses in particular are delicate at the seams and not meant to be worn skin-tight, but I find on many blogs the dresses are being worn without ease. Maybe I am old-fashioned in finding that a less pleasing look?